The British Open heads to the weekend, and coverage will be moved up to accommodate earlier tee times. Viewers will still have multiple options to follow along, including five online streams.
The third round of the British Open has arrived, and one of the biggest names in golf will begin the round on top of the leaderboard. Rory McIlroy was nearly flawless during the first two rounds, carding only a single bogey on his way to consecutive scores of 66. He'll begin moving day at Royal Liverpool at 12-under and four shots clear of the field.
The landscape of a British Open leaderboard can change quickly and dramatically, so McIlroy has plenty of work to do if he's going to claim the Claret Jug. He and the rest of the field will have to deal with an unusual schedule since the R&A is pushing up tee times and opting for split tees to prepare for thunderstorms. Despite the changes, viewers will still be able to watch the majority of the round live, including online.
On a typical British Open Saturday, the players near the bottom of the leaderboard would tee off first, heading off No. 1 around 8 a.m. local time. The final group would begin the day several hours later, likely around 3 p.m. With thunderstorms in the forecast, the tee times were pushed up dramatically and condensed. For the first time in British Open history, players will play off split tees. The leaders will go off No. 1 while the players on the bottom half of the leaderboard will begin their rounds off No. 10. The field will also play in groups of three, with just two hours between the first and last players off the tee. That, of course, is the tentative plan. How much, if at all, weather impacts the start times remains to be seen.
With tee times pushed up, television coverage was also modified, and ESPN is now scheduled to begin its broadcast at 5 a.m. ET, two hours earlier than originally scheduled. Coverage will run through the end of the round, which could mean 11 a.m. or 3 p.m., depending on potential delays. The main broadcast will be available online with a live simulcast on WatchESPN. There will also be four other streams for additional coverage. An international coverage stream will begin on ESPN3 at 4 a.m., and a featured hole stream is scheduled to begin at 5 a.m. The featured hole stream will focus on Nos. 13, 14 and 15.
Tiger Woods will begin the round 14 shots off the lead, but there will still be a dedicated stream for his round, allowing viewers to watch every shot he hits. He is scheduled to tee off at 6:01 a.m. Those looking for highlights, interviews and other news can tune into a stream of @TheOpen Live. It is scheduled to begin at 5 a.m.
Saturday's third round coverage (All times ET)
Television:
5 a.m. to conclusion (~11 a.m. if no weather delays) -- ESPN
Online streams:
4 a.m. -- ESPN3 simulcast of International feed (BBC)
5 a.m. -- ESPN3 simulcast of TV coverage and Spanish feed
5 a.m. -- ESPN3 featured holes stream, Nos. 13 through 15
6 a.m. -- ESPN3 Tiger Woods stream
Radio:
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET -- ESPN Radio / PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 93/208)